Diwali in Guyana

Guyana, officially known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America. Culturally Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island.

Georgetown is the capital and the largest city of Guyana. Other major cities include – Linden, New Amsterdam and Anna Regina.

Around 57% of the population of Guyana is Christian, 28% is Hindu, and 7% is Muslim.

Over 43% of the population is ethnic Indian and hence Diwali is celebrated in the region as a National Holiday.

Diwali in Guyana :

It is believed that the tradition of celebrating Diwali has been brought to Guyana in the year 1838 by the first indentured people from India. The legends related to Diwali and the manner in which it is celebrated are similar to that of India.

During Diwali, people of Guyana clean their homes and decorate then with lights and diya’s. During Diwali, people of Guyana wear new clothes, eat lots of sweets and delicious food, burst firecrackers, spent time with friends and family members, etc.

Here during Diwali people consume Indian sweets like mithai, pera, barfi, and kheer.

Here also, people also perform Lakshmi Ganesh Puja on the Diwali day and visit temples during Diwali to seek blessings of god and goddesses.

Another major celebration taking place in Guyana is the motorcade which take place near the Campbellsville Mandir, wherein some 20 ornate floats, lit with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights of all colour, that depict the various gods and goddesses that make up the Hindu pantheon, move across the city.